Corset



Patented Mar. 26, 1935 PATENT OFFICE CORSET John Field, Fairflcld, Conn., assignor to The Warner Brothers Company, Bridgeport, Comp,

a corporation of Connecticut Orig nal 623,093. Divided application July 18, 1932, Serial No. and this application March 11', 1933, Serial No. 660,373

11 Claims.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 623,093, filed July 18, 1932'. This invention relates to corsets, girdles and. the like, and its principal object resides in the provision of an improved garment of this char- Y panel at each side extending around to the front acter including portions capable of stretching both up and down and across the wearer and other portions capable of stretching up and down but not across, for purposes hereinafter indicated.

Another feature resides in novel provisions for.

bones in suchgarments.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a front'elevation of one form of garment in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the garment shown in Figure 1. 7

Figures 3 and 4 are enlarged sections taken on the lines 3-3 and 4-4 of Figures 1 and 2 respectively.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated a garment including a plurality of panels 1 of material capable of stretching not only across the body of the wearer but also up and down. This material is preferably composed of elastic yarn in combination with non-elastic yarn or stop threads adapted to limit the stretch in at least one direction, advantageously across the body, or this material may be made'substantially entirely of elastic yarn, that is, without such stop threads. The material may advantageously be of woven character, that is to say, of material having both elastic warp and elastic weft strands, or beingflat knit, though for some purposes the material may be of knitted character. Each of these panels preferably extends from top to bottom of the garment, and the up and down extent of the garment is advantageously such that the lower edge 2 thereof lies below the hips and adjacent posterior portions of the wearer.

In the construction illustrated, a plurality of panels of the character mentioned may be employed' for lying at either side of the wearer, one

' of .the wearer and one aroundto the rear, al-

though the panels at either side might be replaced by a single panel. These panels may extend at the-front and back of the garment, when folded flat, as shown, so that they constitute some portion of the material from one hip bone to the other at both the front and back of the wearer, or if desired only at the back.

.At the central front portion of the garment there is employed in the form shown in Figures 1-4 one or more panels 3 of materialincluding elastic yarn so arranged that the material is capable of stretching in an up and down or generally vertical direction but not in a cross-wise or generally horizontal direction. This material is also preferably of woven character. The adjacent edges of the several panels may abut and be joined by stitching 4 as best shown in Figure 3, the stitching desirably being of zig-zag character to permit the required stretching along the seams. However, lap joints and other types of stitching might be substituted. The seams may be covered by elastic stripping 5 sewed to the panels as at 6. Between the stripping 5 and the panel 3 there are preferably provided at the upper, front portion of the garment suitable bones 7, which may be formed of light, flexible, flat metal strips, the stripping serving as pockets in which the bones float. The bones preferably lie lengthwise in the direction in which the material stretches. Where two bones are side by side and covered by single piece of stripping 5, the middle of the latter is preferably stitched to one or more panels as at 8. One or more additional bones may be secured between'the edges of panel 3 by stripping 5 where desired. While bones as shown terminate considerably above the lower edge 2 of the garment, they may extend further down where desired. The pockets may be completed at their lower ends by stitching 9 and at their upper ends by stitching 10 which secures elastic binding 11 to the upper edges of the garment. The lower edge of the garment may be similarly finished with an elastic binding 12, and garter attachments 13 secured thereto.

At the rear of the garment a panel 14 may be interposed between panels 1 and secured thereto similarly to the manner already described. The panel 14 is preferably of material like that of which panel 3 is composed, that is to say, of material which stretches up and down but not across,'and advantageously extends from top to bottom of the garment. Bones 15 may be retained in pockets formed by stripping 5 and may extend substantially the full length of' the garment in unstretched condition. These bones also preferably float in their respective pockets.

It may be noted that the garment thus constructed is capable of stretching up and down at all. points in its girth, and of stretching across or horizontally at some points, as is particularly advantageous.

Through this construction provision is. made for confining or flattening action at the front or back of the garment or both and at the same time riding up of the garment upon the figure, particularly caused by bending at the hips, is avoided. Moreover, the bones give additional flattening action without producing folds or wrinkles. The bones may be incorporated into the garment in simple fashion and require no fastening devices. When they are free to float in their pockets as described, or possibly secured at only one end, they do not interfere with the stretching of the material. Through the construction at the front, the bones '7 have the desired effect over the diaphragm without extending over the abdomen with likelihood of discomfort.

It will be understood that the front may be constructed as described while the rear is entirely of material such as is employed in panels 1 or vice versa, without sacrificing the advantages at the other points in the garment.

At the upper portion of the garment, at one side, provision is made as at 16 for permitting the wearer to step into the same. For instance, hooks and eyes may be employed, as shown, or a lacing or slide fastener. In this case the lower portion of the girth of the garment is continuous, though the opening may be of any suitable length and even extend clear to the bottom of the garment. I

Preferably the capacity of panel 14 to stretch in the up and down direction should be at least as great as that of the panel 1, though the former may be made of relatively fine elastic or otherwise arranged so that the force required to stretch it is less than that which stretches the latter an equal amount. On the other hand the panel 14 when employed should preferably be practically non-stretchable or non-elastic in a transverse or horizontal direction for best results.

While a particular arrangement and number of panels has been shown and described, it will be understood that any single panel might be replaced by a plurality of panels stitched together, or on the other hand, a single panel might be substituted for a plurality of panels shown. Furthermore, the panels might be of larger or smaller size, the panels 1, for instance, extending to a greater or less extent in a transverse direction or direction around the body. It will also be appreciated that, where desired, panels of non-elastic material, or in other words, panels which do not stretch in either direction, may be substituted for other material in the garment. For instance, the whole front of the garment might be made of non-elastic material, while the rear portion might be constructed as described.

While the invention has been described in connection with separate panels secured or engaged to one another, the invention comprehends the interweaving of two types of material to secure the same result. That is to say, by a suitable substitution of one type of yarn or thread for another, at convenient points in the manufacturing operations, it is possible to provide a really integral construction having the characteristics of the invention. Accordingly, when the terms secured or engaged are employed in the specification and claims they are intended as including this form of the invention.

The arrangement and number of the bones may also be varied, or the bones may be omitted where desired. The stripping which cooperates with the bones may be secured only at its ends or along portions of its sides, where desired, instead of securing the stripping along its entire length to the material.

The terms and expressions which'have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in

the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described, or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In a garment of the character described adapted to encircle the hips of the wearer, material capable of stretching up and down as well as across and lying at least in part between the hipbone lines at the sides and the center line at the back of the wearer, said material being formed of elastic yarn, and material secured to the firstnamed material and being capable of stretching up and down but non-stretchable across the wearer, the second mentioned material being located in a zone between the upper and lower edges of the garment, said garment being adapted to encircle the hips of the wearer, to extend above and below the plane of maximum girth taken through the posterior portions, and to stretch up and down at substantially all points overlying the posterior portions of the wearer.

2. A garment of the character described including a plurality of panels of material formed of elastic yarn and adapted to stretch both up and down and across, said panels lying at the sides of the wearer and joined to panels of elastic material adapted to stretch up and down but not across, said second-named panels being substantially at the center of the front and back of the garment and within the girth thereof, said garment being adapted to encircle the hips of the wearer, to extend below the posterior portions, and to stretch up and down at substantially all points overlying the posterior portions of the wearer.

3. A garment of the character described including a plurality of panels of material formed of elastic yarn and adapted to stretch both up and down and across, said panels extending the full length of the garment, and a panel at the rear of the garment secured along both its vertical edges to said material and adapted to stretch up and down but not across, said garment being adapted to encircle the hips of the wearer, to extend below the posterior portions, and to stretch up and down at substantially all points overlying the posterior portions of the wearer.

4. A garment of the character described, including material formed of elastic yarn and adapted to stretch both up and down and across and lying at least in part between the hip-bone lines at the sides and the center line at the back of the wearer, and material capable of stretching up and down but not across engaged adjacent an up and down edge to an edge of the first-named material, said garment being adapted to encircle the hips of the wearer, to extend below the posterior portions, and to stretch up and down at substantially all points overlying the posterior portions of the wearer.

5. The garment as claimed in claim 4 wherein the second-named material lies at the front of the garment, substantially at the center.

6. The garment as claimed in claim 4 wherein the second-named material lies at the middle of the back of the garment.

7'. A garment of the character described including material formed of elastic yarn and capable of stretching. up and down and across, and material at the rear of the garment adapted to stretch up and down but not across, extending longitudinally between portions of the first mentioned material and adjoining the same along a longitudinal dimension, the second mentioned material further extending the full length of the garment, said garment being adapted to encircle the hips of the wearer, to extend below the posterior portions, and to stretch up and down at substantially all points overlying the posterior portions of the wearer.

' 8. In a garment of the character described, a panel of material formed of elastic yarn and capable'of stretching up and down but not across, said panel lying at the rear of the wearer and extending to a point below the posterior portions, and material of woven character formed of elastic yarn and adapted to lie at least in part atthe sides of the wearer, said panel being interposed between laterally spaced portions of the second mentioned material and secured thereto along lines extending upwardly and downwardly, said garment being adapted to encircle the hips oi the wearer and confine the same, said garmentterminating in a uniform lower edge extending at the rear and sides of the garment, well above the knees of the wearer and being adapted to stretch up and down about its entire girth.

9. The garment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second-named material overlies at least a portion of the posterior portions.

10. A garment of the character described, such as a corset, girdle or the like, adapted to be worn next to the body, to surround the hips of the wearer, and to confine the posterior portions, said garment comprising porous material formed at least in part of elastic yarn, extending below the posterior portions and being adapted to stretch up and down by virtue of its inherent elasticity, and other material adjoining said first-named material along an up and down dimension, formed of porous material made at least in part from elastic yarn and adapted to stretch both up and down and across the wearer by virtue of its inherent elasticity, said secondnamed material lying between the hipbone lines at the sides and the center line at the rear of the wearer, and said first-named material being substantially non-elastic in directions around the wearer, said garment being adapted to stretch up and down over substantially all portions overlying the posterior portions 01' the wearer.

11. The garment as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first-named material and second-named material have substantially the same capacityto stretch up and down where they adjoin one another.

JOHN FIELD. 

